My last desperate attempt to borrow some exchaust pipes!

[Mattrix]

Hi guys,
As some of you know already, I'm having to make some modifications to my '78 in order to get it engineered. At this stage, MADLT1 has lent me some stock manifolds, and I was going to get pipes made up just to get me through the registration process. The thing is, even at $250 for custom bent pipes, it's expensive because i only need them for 1 day (pretty much) and then I'm putting my sidepipes back on. So, the final call is going out for anybody that has some stock pipes that would suit a '78, I just need to borrow them for a few weeks, it would save me some cash and I'd make it worth your while (name your vice... usually it's alcohol but sometimes you just never know). I'll travel within about a 200km radius of Newcastle to get them. It'd save me that much stuffing around and dollars that it would be worth it (sure I'd have to put them on myself, as opposed to the other guy doing it all for me, but i'd still rather have the money in my pocket).
Anyway, let me know if you have anything. I just want to get it on the road, I've had it in Aus for nearly 3 years and that's just too long if you ask me. I'd rather not have to bite the bullet and pay for the pipes... but if I do end up doing that, I might just sell them in here anyway if anyone was interested...?
thanks in advance

Matt

[72vet]

Matt you have U2U.

[WARFARIN]

Matt,
Why do you have to have stock exhausts? Presumeably the "engineer" is required for major change like LHD to RHD conversion?

If it's noise, why can't you stuff the sidepipes full of steel wool, get a sound check and that's it.

I'm in the same boat as you but my Vette not quite ready for rego. I had no intentions of presenting it for rego with stock exhaust and manifolds, like you I don't have 'em.

David

[Mattrix]

It's because the exhaust has to finish further back on the car (the sidepipes obviously don't allow for this). Since sidepipes weren't a factory item on a 78, I have to return the car to factory condition. Anyway, I'll be ringing the engineer on monday to ask him *exactly* what he needs me to do in order to get it through engineering.
To answer your other question, if a car hasn't been registered in Australia before, you need to get it engineered, regardless of whether it's LHD or RHD.

Cheers

Matt

[nifty]

cant help but wonder if its passed for rego with normal pipes, then sidepipes put back on what the boys in blue would think about that if ever you got pulled up, and face it....its a vette...they ALL get pulled up eventually, normally for just a look...
another problem could be getting an insurance payout if heaven forbid something happens with the sidepipes fitted and insurance decide to push the issue.....

[Mattrix]

don't think the cop thing would be a problem. if it ever was, i'd just get told to go put stock pipes on it before i was allowed to drive again, so i'd just have to bite the bullet and get some made. most would be unlikely to know that it didn't come from the factory with sidepipes anyway.
with the insurance thing, that could be nasty yeah. but then, does the type of exhaust affect the policy...? I'm not too sure of the finer details of insurance so pardon my ignorance :)

Matt

[demonx]

Mattrix - it's not the policy that nifty is referring to. It's te fact htat insurance companies are rejecting claims these days on the basis of things as simple as window tint too dark. Tires too bald etc.

Anything that makes the car un-roadworthy they can use as an excuse not to pay out.

[nifty]

Originally posted by demonx
Mattrix - it's not the policy that nifty is referring to. It's te fact htat insurance companies are rejecting claims these days on the basis of things as simple as window tint too dark. Tires too bald etc.

Anything that makes the car un-roadworthy they can use as an excuse not to pay out.

exactly my point..... may be a sticky area, may not be.... but im sure if a claim was made for a sizeable ammount they would try VERY hard to find out anything that is not how it should be.....
case in point....
bloke at work with a turbo ford ute, blew it up...he trying his hardest to claim it on insurance, claiming someone stole the sump plug, and has a police report to back it up....
last i heard they wanting to view the engine to verify its NOT modified and is factory stock..... that could be his undoing....
its worked to hell and back.....
time will tell if he gets a new motor, or if he has to somehow find the money to buy his own....
this bloke is a dipsh#t..... he thinks he can pull the wool over the insurance guys eyes....
all up cost for repairs is around the 7k mark...
case 2...
i had my work car parked on the road a few yrs ago...bloke went sideways, cleaned it up writing it off, then he done a runner, stashed his car, hit the phone and claimed it stolen...
he got arrested and 3 yrs later got convicted of making a false report....., BUT still claimed he wasnt the driver, even though he was the only person in the car.
but MY insurance wont pay me the 3k for my car....
if i want the money i have to take HIM to court,( at my expense) and if im lucky i might get $2 a week for the rest of his life.....
spoke to a solictor about,and bascily he would take the case on, but given the fact he claiming he WASNT the driver, i have a chance of losing....and if so it would cost me for his and my lawyer, which would ammount to more than the damage bill.....
was advised to just put it down to experience,bite the bullet, and hopefully one day a bit of justice will be done to this peanut...( who btw does not have a job, yet drives an XR8 falcon,and rides a ducati motorbike, all on the dole..yeah right)
I know he was driving, the cops know he was driving, and my insurance know he was driving..... but what we know may not stand up in court....
and thats over a measly 3 grand, which over the years ive paid im preimums alone...and uptil then have NEVER made a claim on anything for 18yrs....doesnt seem fair, but there is a reason the insurance companies turn a profit each year.....

[demonx]

With all that said - I myself will be doing the exact same thing as Mattrix and putting my hooker pipes on AFTER the VASS and RWC!

[nifty]

dont get me wrong....GREAT IDEA.....just could come back and bite you on the arse at a later date.....

[Mattrix]

I was almost tempted to keep the stock pipes on and put the sidepipes back on but not hooked up, they would just be an external accessory... but, it appears that the guy doing the exhaust for me will be borrowing it off a guy that owns a coupe of vettes that works next door to him in a panel place. So yeah, they won't be my pipes anyway... ahh well whaddya do. it's all money aint it? :)

Good points on the insurance stuff though... it's all fine and dandy while "it'll never happen to me" until that day that it does happen to you, at which point you're up a brown creek without a lump of wood.

[JP]

I finally got mine registered 2 months ago, with the side pipes on it, however they were illigal( not what you know but who). THe enginner told me that if I had registed it 3 month earlier I would have been fine as the pipes had to finish behind the last opening window. They have now changed the rule and the pipes have to finish 400mm behind the last opening window that puts the pipe in the middle of the wheel.
 If it remains LH i didnt think it needed to be engineed, as a mate of mine imported a mustang left it LH drive got a blue slip and registed it.
Regards James.

PS I have the original exhaust of my 76 you could borrow if it helps you. I had to use the manifold clamps on the side pipes so you would need them. I dont check this sight all the time so call me 0408581175, I'm in camden.

[Mattrix]

Just sent you u2u JP :)

[Mattrix]

Well now I feel like a complete toss. based on this doc

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registration/downloads/vsi/vsi40_rev1.pdf

i don't need to get the car engineered. so, I may be able to get it through with little modifications required... hmmmmm :) will keep you all up to date on that one.

[Reklaw]

Might be getting off the original track of borrowing some pipes here, but thought I'd add to the Engineering issue. The rules probably vary from State to State, but the interpretation also varies from district to district, Engineer to Engineer.
I'm on the Central Coast of NSW. The rules for my '75 are ..
The Blue Slip guy won't inspect the car unless it's been OK'd by an Engineer.
The Engineer wants to see the Reversing Lights turned into Blinkers with a separate Reversing Light added.
He wants the exhaust to be (from memory) 96db
Because it's a '75 and therefore pre ADR, he just wants it to have a Charcoal Canister, no other pollution devices required.
Any other mods., e.g. aftermarket wheels, will be added to the Engineering Report for future reference.
The RTA will allow me to drive the car, unregistered, without plates, but with a letter of explanation in case I get pulled over, to get it Engineered, Weighed at a Public Weigh Station, Blue Slip inspection, then to an RTA office to do the paperwork.
In my case, I consider all this to be not too bad really.

[Mattrix]

Interesting. I imagine it would differ between blue slip guys. I have a PDF open at home that tells you how to wire up the lighting, so I *should* be ok with that, here's hoping. The exhaust thing is annoying, I'll see what happens there. Did he mention the mirrors or headlights? Did he mention the seatbelts? I have heard things about those but am not sure whether I need to attack them or not.
Thanks for the info

[Reklaw]

Sorry, forgot to mention the seatbelts. They have to be "of Australian type" meaning ADR compliant. I bought mine through Stamps Hot Rod Seat Belts, they were Hemco brand. There was a post on these about a month or so ago, you can buy direct from Hemco if you want. Just had to make up a right angled bracket so they pulled upward toward the anchor in the pillar. No mention of mirrors or lights. A few months ago, we did a mate's '74 through this Engineer. No issue with mirrors or lights there either.

[Mattrix]

OK so I bit the bullet and took off the sidepipes (which, as it turns out, are hookers), and worked with my mate on putting on some pipes off a '77 vette that the guy didn't want anymore. It now sounds, well, average, but I have been used to sidepipes so that's gonna happen. Anyway it's only temporary, will swap it all back once rego is passed.

On another note, it turns out I have to redo all bushings... what a bloody expensive exercise that will be, so if anyone knows where I can get bushings for cheap let me know. Aussie dollar sucks at the moment, which makes the timing worse. But I'd like to have it on the road by March if I can help it.

Matt

[77CVT]

Pontiworld